


Freedom

by Madashatters



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Angst, Break Up, Cheating, Gender-Neutral Pronouns, Other, Protective Best Friend, Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 11:54:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16853548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madashatters/pseuds/Madashatters
Summary: You come back from spring break expecting everything to be the way you had left it. Then Cheryl breaks the news to you and instead of collapsing into yourself, you decide revenge is the best break up cure. Though sometimes, it doesn’t always work.





	Freedom

**Author's Note:**

> Anon Requested:   
> —may i request a veronica lodge imagine? here’s my idea, so the reader & ronnie have been dating for some time now. the reader goes away on vacation for spring break, only to find out that ronnie had slept with archie, and they get into a huge, angsty, emotional fight where everything just pours out. you can take it from there lol.

Life in Riverdale was a lot better than you thought it would be. You had made friends surprisingly fast despite coming later in the year, and even met the girl of your dreams; fellow new kid, Veronica Lodge. You had met her on your first day in town, bumping into her as you wonder around aimlessly and tried to map out everything. Seeing your confused face she offered to give you a tour of the place which ended with a shared milkshake at Pop’s and an innocent kiss at your doorstep. The rest just fell into place. Your first months in the town were full of laughter, love, and mystery. Some tears were shed, some truths were learned, but in the end you were closer with everyone. Even Cheryl. However, spring break was a welcome restart button, something that could help everyone forget about what happened in the past year. The only problem was, instead of spending it with Veronica like you wanted, you and your family had to go back to your hometown. For the whole week. Veronica made sure _everyone_ knew how upset she was about the news.

“Why do _you_ have to go back?” You had just broken the news to her and everyone else, apologizing to the people you had already made plans with. You were leaving that day and there was a reason you had waited until the last minute to let everyone know. Otherwise, Veronica would’ve stormed to your house and convinced your parents that you weren’t necessary in the family reunion.

You rubbed her arm, “Because my family misses me. I’m sorry baby, I’ll make it up to you I promise.”

She crossed her arms and fell back into your side, pouting, “You better.” You had kissed her on the side of the head and when you got home, you and your family were on the road.

While you were gone, to the annoyance of your family, you and Veronica talked everyday, Distance makes the heart grow fonder and all that. All you knew was that you were ready for spring break to end so you could see her again, so you could hold her and let her know just how much you had missed her. You had never felt this way about anyone before. Sure, you had relationships and you _cared_ about them but for the first time in your life, you could see yourself loving someone. She made your heart feel full and anytime you were with her, you felt warm and safe. You almost wanted everything to stop so you could bask in the feeling that _was_ Veronica. It was something you never wanted to lose.

* * *

\----

When you got back from your hometown, the first person that came to see you was Cheryl, not Veronica. To everyone’s surprise, you and Cheryl had hit it off your first week of school. It was easy to say that she was your best friend. You hugged her tightly, excited to see her after the too long break, “Ugh, I missed you Red.”

She laughed, “I missed you too sweetcheeks but you’re gonna lose me soon if you keep squeezing me like that.” You let her go, sheepishly. She pointed at your face, “Stop that, you know I love you and your bear hugs.”

Her face fell then, it was subtle but you could tell, and you knew she wasn’t just here to welcome you back. You grabbed onto her arm nervously, “What happened?” She pulled you into your house and sat you down on the couch.

“I’m only telling you this because I care about you, okay? And because I know that no one else will and you deserve to know.”

“Cheryl.” If you weren’t worried before, you were now. There were few times you had seen Cheryl as serious as she was. Hell, she wasn’t this serious when she told you the Blossoms Manor burned down.

“Okay.” She took a deep breath and held onto your hand tightly. “Over the break Archie and Veronica got together,” She stared only at your hands, “Multiple times.” 

The only evidence that you had heard her was how limp your hand went, yet still she held on. “How do you know?”

“She told Betty without knowing I was there. From what I heard, they decided on never letting you know.” She waited for some kind of response; for you to cry or scream or even throw her out but you still did nothing. “Y/N?”

“What are your thoughts on some classic revenge Cherry Bomb?” You smirked, a plan already forming in your head. It was nowhere near the right thing to do but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. Something had broken and a new person was coming out to fix it. 

Cheryl definitely approved. She returned the smile, mischief filling her eyes, “Oh, I _love_ it.”

You pulled her up and happily swung your hands as you made your way out of the house and to Pop’s. You had a girlfriend to see, after all.

* * *

\----

Veronica was surprised to see you and acted the exact way she should. She screamed in excitement and jumped up immediately, gushing as she hugged you that she missed you  _so_ much. You bit your tongue and instead of ‘So much that you slept with the first person you could’ escaping your mouth, you smiled and said, “I missed you too babe.” Her kiss tasted bitter and cold, the broken feeling was finally sinking in. You asked Pop for a milkshake and ignored the confused look from Veronica when it wasn’t the one you always shared with her. Cheryl had already sat down across from Betty, a twinkle in her eyes as you and Veronica turned to sit with them. You shrugged towards Veronica and took a seat, her nose twitched in jealousy the way it always used to and you wanted to scream.

“So, Y/N,” Her voice was cheerful but you felt her cross her legs under the table, she was ready to fight. Not a part of the plan but fun nonetheless. You chose to ignore that you knew so much about her. “I thought you weren’t coming home until tomorrow? I was gonna surprise you and everything.” She pouted. 

Pop set your milkshake down in front of you but before you could take it, Cheryl dragged it towards her and took a sip. Veronica’s eyes narrowed. You subtly kicked Cheryl under the table, the plan was to pretend like nothing happened not to make her jealous, and grabbed onto Veronica’s hand. You were sure Cheryl was enacting her own revenge, there was no doubt she was pissed at what Veronica had done. But for this to work, she had to believe everything was okay. “No, babe, it was today. I’m sorry I thought I told you?” You had told her, you had practically counted down the days until you got to see her again. Apparently, she wasn’t doing the same.  

The guilt flashed across her face but it disappeared just as fast as it came. She was good at keeping secrets, you had fallen for her because you thought you were the only one she wouldn’t keep them from. “It must’ve slipped my mind, I’m sorry baby.” 

“It’s fine V, Cheryl ended up meeting me.” You could see Cheryl’s smirk in the corner of your eye. It couldn’t hurt _too_  much to make her a little jealous. If anything, you should be the one beyond jealousy, not her. You turned to Cheryl, “Are you ever going to give me my milkshake back?”

Cheryl sighed, annoyed, and held the straw to your mouth, her fingers practically touching your lips. Veronica’s grip tightened around yours. After taking a sip, she immediately took it back, “It’s mine now.”

“Well then you’re the one paying for it.”  She shrugged and settled into the booth, sipping away while she casually placed her feet in your lap. Your heart twisted to be doing all of this in front of Veronica but the relationship had ended the moment she chose, over and over again, to be with Archie. You gave Veronica a ‘what can you do?’ expression and pretended to be happy. “So how was your spring break? You didn’t tell me that much whenever we talked.”

Now was the time for her to tell you, everyone at the table knew that including Betty. She tried to hide the look she was giving Veronica, the one that clearly said she wanted Veronica to tell you. But from what Veronica said, she didn’t agree with her best friend. “It was boring. Mommy and Daddy only wanted to talk shop and when I needed to escape I hung out with Bets.” 

You nodded and smiled, continuing the conversation with Veronica’s hand in yours and her knife in your back. The plan was to see how long it took, to be the best significant other you could ever be and see how long she spits at it. Cheryl’s guess was the first day back to school, yours was the moment Archie was in the same room. It was going to be hard, to continue to break your heart and pretend everything was fine but in the end, it’d be worth it. You just had to be patient.

* * *

\----

The first thing you noticed were the pitying glances. Everyone seemed to know what had happened over spring break, enough to glare at Veronica and pat you on the back. Yet no one told you why. It said a lot. You fell next to Veronica, pulling her into your side and smiling happily the way you always used to greet her. Taking such a huge step back the way you were, you had really been heads over heels for Veronica, and if Cheryl hadn’t told you there was no way you would’ve figured it out yourself. Love had made you more than blind, it had made you compliant. Betty shuffled in her seat but smiled nonetheless while Jughead’s leg started to bounce. Archie was no where to be seen. “Does anyone know why everyone is looking at me like my dog died? And that Veronica was the one to pull the plug?” Your laugh was more real than it should’ve been, though the reason you were laughing was more towards everyone’s reaction rather than what you said. You looked down to Veronica, “Something you wanna tell me babe?” You kept the joy in your voice, as if you were oblivious to the tension in the air. 

She shrugged and smiled, “Not unless you got dog I don’t know about.” 

Betty clenched her fist, the secret seemed to be tearing the two besties apart. You almost felt bad. “It might be because of me.” Everyone turned dramatically to the entrance where Archie stood, it was almost funny how cinematic it was. Jughead’s leg stopped bouncing. 

“Hey, Arch! Where have you been?” You stood to hug him, keeping the act even though you wanted to punch him, but Veronica pulled you back down and stood up before you could. 

“Archiekins may I talk to you please?” He looked down like a downtrodden puppy but followed Veronica into the almost empty hallway nonetheless. _Archiekins_ , you always hated that nickname. 

You forced yourself to look concerned, “What’s that about? And what did he mean that it was because of him?” 

Cheryl huffed and looked towards you, “This is getting out of hand. Look, Y/N-”

“Cheryl.” Betty sneered, effectively cutting her off. You coughed to hide a laugh, there really was no doubt that Betty was loyal. Apparently, she was the one who had convinced everyone to keep their mouths shut, though it obviously didn’t work with Cheryl. 

“Betty, what’s going on?” The hardness in your voice wasn’t supposed to be there. But it almost hurt more to see so many of your friends keep this from you. 

She sighed and lowered her voice, keeping her eye out for Veronica, “You should talk to V.” You had tried talking to Veronica, when it was just the two of you to see if the reason she didn’t tell you was because of the people around you. She kissed you and for the first time, you weren’t distracted. Instead, you wondered how many times she used how you felt against you. 

“Talk to V about what?” Veronica walked in, smoothing her skirt as she did, and you felt your heart drop when you saw Archie walk in after fixing his hair with a dopey smile. She had used the same technique on him then. She sat next to you with newly applied lipstick and kissed you on the cheek. All of a sudden it was real and whatever plan you had was gone. She had cheated on you while you were in the next room and expected you to just turn a blind eye. You couldn’t do it anymore, you couldn’t keep pretending.  You just stared at her, tears you hadn’t let spill since you found out piling in your eyes. The first few fell when you saw the worry in her eyes and her hand touched your shoulder, “Babe? Are you okay?” You wondered if anything was real. 

You looked down and tried to compose yourself, Cheryl was sitting next to you before you knew it and her warmth next to you was welcome compared to the newly found ice in Veronica. “Y/N?” Betty’s voice was hesitant and you couldn’t help but laugh through your tears. Cheryl started to rub your back. 

“Talk to Veronica. That’s what I have to do right Betty?” You looked up to her, your tears in full view but you couldn’t care. “Or maybe I should just wait for her to fuck him right in front of me. Seems that’s the only way I’ll figure it out, right?” Veronica flinched next to you and the moment she tried to place her hand on you, you stood up in anger. You composed yourself, wiped your tears, and made your way out of the lounge. You stopped in front of Archie, not able to look at him, “You deserve a lot better Arch.” You left without another word, trying to keep your emotions in check until you got home. 

* * *

\----

“Who told them?” Veronica held her head in her hands, close to pulling her hair out. “Which one of you _told_  them?” She was beyond angry. She was going to tell you at some point, at least that’s what she kept telling herself, but things were so good that she didn’t want to ruin them. She looked up to glare at the suspects but it didn’t take long to figure out who did it, especially since she was smirking like an alley cat. She stood up and glared down at Cheryl, “Who gave you the _right_?!” She was close to yelling.

Cheryl was calm, though there was a boiling anger underneath her surface. She had kept it in this long but now you were on your way home, crying, and Cheryl was the angriest she had ever been. “The same person who gave you the right to cheat on my best friend.” She grimaced towards Archie, “And with _that.”_

“It has nothing to do with that, you don’t give a shit about anyone but yourself and we all know it.” She leaned down, an intimidation tactic that Cheryl basically created, “Maybe you’re just jealous that I have both of them.” 

Cheryl smirked and leaned up, their noses practically touching, “Seems to me, the best of the two isn’t yours to have anymore.” She tilted her head, enjoying the expression on Veronica’s face. She looked like she had just been slapped, though Cheryl craved to see what _that_  actual face would look like.”What a shame.” She sing songed. 

Veronica turned on her heel and left the lounge, jerking her arms out of Archie’s grasp when he tried to stop her. Cheryl sat back, pulling out her phone to warn you what was to come. “She was going to tell them eventually.” 

Cheryl raised her eyebrows at Betty, surprised that she could be so naive, “We both know that she was never going to tell them. And even if she was, it should’ve happened as soon as they got home.” Betty sat in silence, not sure what to say. Cheryl sent her text and waited for the school day to end. Whatever happened between you and Veronica had to be done and even she knew that it was something she couldn’t interrupt. That didn’t mean she wasn’t going to check up on you the moment Veronica left and she would be leaving. She was sure of that. 

* * *

 ----

The text had reached you right before Veronica did, she was always the fastest when she was determined. “Y/N, _please_ can we just talk?” You sighed, you were so close to making it to your house but you weren’t even allowed that comfort. You turned to Veronica, your glare framed by tears.

“Talk about what Veronica? The weather? It’s partly cloudy with a chance of cheating ex. Now excuse me while I find shelter.” She lunged forward to grab you but you jerked away before she could. “ _Don’t_ touch me.” You snarled, “You lost the right.”

“What do you want me to say Y/N?! That I’m sorry? Because I am, I’m so so sorry baby.” Her desperation gave you hope that maybe it wasn’t all fake. But even if that was true, it was over. It had to be.

“Sorry that it happened or sorry that you were caught?” She paused, surprised by the question. You stepped towards her, satisfied that you made the mighty Veronica Lodge take a step back. “Or maybe you’re sorry that I saw through your lies, that you’re the one being made a fool of instead of me?” You lowered your voice, “Tell me _babe_ which is it?”

She grabbed your face and pulled you into a kiss, she glued her body to yours and only got more intense the longer you didn’t reciprocate.You clenched your fists to stop yourself, from kissing back or pushing her away you weren’t sure.   She pulled back out of breath, searching your face for _something_ and deflating when it was nowhere to be found., “What happened to you?”

You wiped the lipstick from your mouth, “I’m not under your control anymore.” You stroked her cheek the way you used to when you were about to kiss her and, despite your words, Veronica’s eyes turned hopeful. A red smear was across her cheek, you smiled “We’re over.” Her face fell, along with her grasp on you, making it easy to slip out of her arms. You turned around and continued on your way to your house. You felt the sob in your chest but kept it in until you knew she couldn’t see you anymore. She didn’t deserve your tears, you knew that, but the relationship you had, _that_ deserved to be mourned.

“Don’t you dare walk away from me Y/N! Y/N!” She yelled after you and you couldn’t help but smile. You were glad it had died. Even though you were happy while with her, you were also trapped. Now you were free and, after you cried and ranted with Cheryl, you were excited to explore your newfound freedom.

**Author's Note:**

> Apr 18th, 2018


End file.
